8 January 2019 (Al Jazeera News) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has advocated the kidnapping and torture of government auditors for hampering the work of his administration. In a speech before local officials gathered in the capital, Manila, Duterte cursed at the independent constitutional body, which is responsible for examining the accounts and spending by […]
By Nicole Acevedo7 January 2019 (NBC News) – As the new Congress starts the year, Democrats are picking up an unresolved fight: investigating the Trump administration’s response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand , D-N.Y., announced on Monday that she’s reintroducing a bill to establish a “9/11-style” independent commission “to […]
By David Jackson 9 January 2019 WASHINGTON (USA TODAY) – President Donald Trump said in a Wednesday tweet that he is cutting off federal money to fight California wildfires, claiming the money is being wasted. “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest Management, would never […]
By Timothy Cama7 January 2019 (The Hill) – The Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a case in which Exxon Mobil Corp. is trying to stop Massachusetts’s demand for documents from it in a climate change investigation. The announcement in the case, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Healey, came without explanation, as is the […]
By Kaamil Ahmed4 January 2019 (Mongabay) – A pair of “French spies” had infiltrated India by sea to commit a “treasonous conspiracy,” an Indian minister claimed in late November. In reality, they were two visiting journalists, and their mission was an investigation into allegations of illegal sand mining in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. […]
By Eric Westervelt4 January 2019 (NPR) – Facing staggering liability costs for its potential culpability in a series of deadly wildfires, the parent company of California’s largest utility is exploring whether to sell off a major part of the company, NPR has learned. Internally, Pacific Gas & Electric has dubbed this strategy “Project Falcon.” Under […]
BILLINGS, Montana, 4 January 2019 (AP) – Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says National Park visitors should “grab a trash bag and take some trash out” as garbage bins at some parks overflow during the government shutdown. With many government workers furloughed as the partial shutdown entered its 14th day on Friday, garbage has […]
By Lydia DePillis4 January 2019 Washington (CNN) – The US national debt stood at $21.974 trillion at the end of 2018, more than $2 trillion higher than when President Donald Trump took office, according to numbers released Thursday by the Treasury Department. The national debt has been rising at an accelerated rate in the aftermath […]
By Anthony Boadle2 January 2019 BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s new President Jair Bolsonaro set to work quickly on Wednesday, with his administration issuing decrees affecting the economy, agriculture and society, while forging closer political ties with the United States. Bolsonaro, a former army captain and seven-term congressman, won elections in October and was sworn in […]
By José Arcia 24 December 2018 (Mongabay) – From the air one can observe the destruction wrought by an open-pit mining project in Cerro Petaquilla and on the ground people talk about its environmental consequences. A security checkpoint and a sign announce that you have reached one of the entrances of the project in the […]
